Banquet at Delmonico's

In "Banquet at Delmonico's", Barry Werth draws readers inside the circle of intellectuals, scientists, politicians, businessmen, and clergymen who brought Charles Darwin's controversial ideas to post - Civil War America. Each chapter is dedicated to a crucial intellectual encounter, culminating with an exclusive farewell dinner held in English philosopher Herbert Spencer's honor at the venerable New York restaurant Delmonico's in 1882. In this thought-provoking and nuanced account, Werth firmly situates Darwinism in the context of the Gilded Age. "Banquet at Delmonico's" is social history at its finest.